Did You Know?

The Mother Who changed the Course of Church History

Monica was a Christian woman living in fifth-century Northern Africa when that region was still part of the Roman Empire. In 354 A.D, she gave birth to a boy, her only child and her pride and joy. She taught the boy of Christ's love and prayed for him constantly. But as the boy grew up, he abandoned her teaching, choosing instead to pursue the worldly pleasures-as well as the pagan philosophies and religious beliefs-that were so readily available in the late Roman Empire. But through it all, Monica continued to pray for her son faithfully, convinced that God would reach him eventually. When Monica's son was thirty years old, God finally broke through. Monica's son was Saint Augustine, and the truths she taught him at her knee have echoed throughout history.